the thermovacuum treated wood

the thermovacuum treated wood

Thermovacuum for a new kind of wood Tv4newood project, financed by European Commission with Eco Innovation programme 2012, has the aim to create and disseminate in European market a new process for generate thermally modified wood that has special properties of strength and durability. The timber produced is created without adding chemicals and with a considerable saving in energy, this is possible with a technology that operates under vacuum, Why is the development of such solution interesting? The project objective is to test the innovative process of 7 wood species widespread in Europe Fir, Spruce, Maritime Pine, Ash, Beech, Poplar, Oak. These woods are today considered economically unattractive; the process gets wood with the durability and aesthetic characteristics of resistance similar to those of tropical woods. The positive effects are: Raising the value of the European wood today underexploited Use of European wood from certified forests for production in different market sectors Decrease of tropical wood of dubious origin demand Decreased production of CO2 due to the transport of large quantities of wood from great distances Rising employment in the wood industry Dissemination of wood products completely biodegradable Main project results: Vacwood registration trademark and certificated product 5 production plants world wild Decrease of tropical wood of dubious origin demand for about 120.000 m 3 in 5 years Decrease of water 980.000 mc and 620.000 KWh with Thermovacuum process Innovative Vacwood available for Indoor parquets / Naval furnishing and cladding / house restructuring /external joinery 2 3

Where are the process and wood tested? Who are the partners involved? Ecolwood a Monistrol sur Loire (Francia) Production capacity 8 m 3 /cycle Fir, Spruce, Maritime Pine, Ash, Beech, Poplar, Oak Coordinator of project WDE-MASPELL SRL Owner of innovative solution patent and Vacwood Trademark. Wde-Maspell designs and manufactures plants for the heat treatment of wood. CNR IVALSA The Trees and Timber Institute of the National Research Council (CNR) Technical responsible of project perform the laboratory tests regarding the product certification of treated wood, the standardsetting process and implementation of the LCA CNR IVALSA San Michele all Adige (Trento) Test for: treatment process and Vacwood mechanical properties CONLEGNO Italian national wood and cork services consortium (CSLS) CSLS is responsible for dissemination towards end users and final consumers. Will spread to other European associations the project results. SWEDISH UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (SLU) Department of Forest Product. SLU perform laboratory tests for the certification of the finished TVW product Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU) Department of Forest Product. SLU perform durability laboratory tests for the certification of Vacwood ECOLWOOD (ECW) French Sme for wood treatment under vacuum. ECW is the first industrial Vacwood manufacturer in Europe. ECW produced the Vacwood for laboratory tests and the TVW samples. MEDITERRANEAN REFITTING GROUP Italian SME for the interior and exterior of the luxury boats, the first user of vacuum heat-treated wood for the furniture of a prestigious yacht. 4 5

Project work packages VacWood wood innovation WP N 1 Project Management WP N 2 Manufacturing process definition and data collection WP N 3 LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) WP N 4 Process and product certification WP N 5 Market Replication WP N 6 Business Plan The manufacturing of VacWood relies on the use of high temperatures in a under vacuum environment, without any chemical additives. This process improves many wood features: Resistance to biological agents, The resistance to atmospheric agents, The dimensional stability The thermal insulation A pleasant odour of the product The mechanical strength, very close to that of a natural wood The reduced moisture content and wettability The uniform colour for the entire thickness of the wood The compatibility with the environment of a 100% natural product and free of pollutants WP N 7 Dissemination Activities The Thermovacuum process has other positives features: Very low energy consumption Emission of VOC - volatile organic compound very close to that of natural wood No leakage into the surrounding environment The wood treatment process, patented by WDE Maspell, take place in a single machine for all process stages. The three stages are: Project started 1 st September 2013 Project end 31 st August 2016 DRYING: The wood is properly dried until it contains an extremely low moisture content, close to 0%, using a vacuum drying process within a superheated steam atmosphere in order to guarantee the quickest and most effective drying, without stressing the woody matter. European Countries involved 3: Italy, Sweden, France Partners Involved: 6 Project budget: 1.771.928 European fund (50%): 885.964 HIGH TEMPERATURE: During the thermal vacuum treatment stage, the temperature is raised up between 170 C and 210 C, depending on wood type and expected result; wood stays in this condition for between two to four hours. Thanks to the continuous extraction of the internal atmosphere by an innovative vacuum pump system, the emissions of the gases produced by the wood are condensed, diluted and stored without any risk to the environment. The cooling period follows, whereby an air-air heat exchanger is used, down to a temperature of 90 C, without the addition of coolants or direct contact with the atmosphere. 6 For more information please write to tv4newood@wde-maspell.it CONDITIONING Starting from the pre-existing under-vacuum values, the conditioning stage consists of increasing the pressure within the cell using the steam produced by atmospheric pressure. This process allows the wood, which is practically anhydrous, to regain an equilibrium moisture content of approximately 4%, thereby avoiding the stress of atmospheric contact. 7

Treatment categories and wood species The physical properties of VacWood include step Currently the VacWood brand applies to 7 wood species: Silver Fir, Spruce, Maritime Pine, Ash, Beech, Poplar and Oak There are three treatment categories, which have been designed to guarantee the performance of the wood in line with the chemical and physical changes achieved due to the rising temperature that is applied. Each category foreseen a different treatment for various wood thickness, up to 22 mm and 33 mm. VacWood C (COLOUR) The maximum treatment temperature is 170 C, which guarantees that the wood becomes a darker colour compared to untreated wood, giving it a more attractive appearance and evening out the colouration in raw material which features differences between sapwood and heartwood. VacWood S (STABILITY) The maximum treatment temperature is 190 C in order to achieve an even darker colour and greater dimensional stability. Ideal for uses that require the wood to be immobile (ex. flooring, internal doors and windows). VacWood D (DURABILITY) The maximum treatment temperature is 210 C in order to achieve an even darker colour and an improvement in durability class, which is defined as the resistance capacity of the woody matter against biodegradation (fungus, mould) and is linked to classes of risk that determine the particular exposure conditions (outdoors, in contact with ground, etc.) in which we can use the wood. This, therefore, opens up the option of using species that undergo rapid biodegradation in environments that were previously risky for them, thereby allowing less valuable forest resources to be used, yet ones which grow quicker, in an exponential way. p T u 1 Ui Ti DRYING Tf Ucr +DT t Tpr HT -DT Ueq 2 3 4 5 6 7 t CONDITIONING GLOSSARY Ui Initial MC (Moisture Content) Ucr Critical MC: the MC that the wood must contain at the end of the drying stage and at the beginning of the thermal treatment. Tcr Critical T: the T at which the modification reaction starts. +DT Heating rate during the warm up. Tpr Maximum constant T during the thermal treatment. t Duration of treatment (hours) at Tpr. p Vacuum pressure (mbar) during the thermal treatment. -DT Cooling rate from Tpr to Tcr. Ueq MC of wood after the treatment, ready to be used in operative conditions T Temperature u Humidity Loss of mass Loss of mass is the best indicator and guarantee of treatment intensity and is closely linked to thermal degradation, which indicates the way in which the wood is changing its chemical structure via the partial evaporation of certain components. Equilibrium moisture content and dimensional stability The variation in the equilibrium moisture content of VacWood correlates to the exposure temperature. Its value decreases, while maintaining this feature over time, in a range between 4% and 8%. Colour The colour of VacWood changes throughout the three treatment categories described previously. The higher the exposure temperature, the darker the wood becomes. The colour acquired by wood is uniform throughout its surface, inside and outside. VacWood D VacWood S VacWood C Not treated 210 190 170 NT 8 9

Mission The VacWood brand is constantly evolving, the aim is to expand it to many more local wood species interesting for market penetration. WDE MASPELL team puts them through a long and proven testing phase, which guarantees compliance with trademark and target performance levels. This task will be the results of knowledge and experience sharing of our technical and scientific partners, wood producers, wood users and custoers, that will take part to this ambitious project. 10 11

WDE MASPELL SRL Strada di Sabbione 65/A 05100 Terni (TR) ITALIA Tel: +39 0744 800672 Fax: + 39 0744 807056 www.wde-maspell.it www.tv4newood.it e-mail: tv4newood@wde-maspell.it co-financied project Co-funded by the Eco-innovation Initiative of the European Union Official partners